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A cadet's guide to Helldivers 2

Basic training might be over, cadet, but we have a few extra tips to help you on your glorious mission to deliver the galaxy the freedom it deserves.

The galaxy's last line of offence

The star systems surrounding Super Earth are besieged by both bug and machine. It's your job, cadet, to liberate those hostile systems, one planet at a time.

Each planet has a large number of operations of varying risk levels to undertake. As you prove your skill in more trivial skirmishes, you'll earn the right to tackle more dangerous incursions, where the rewards for your squad will be ever greater. 

The galactic map in every ship charts the progress of our military efforts. Only by liberating one planet and system after the other can we hope to secure freedom galaxy-wide.

Dressed to kill

Picking weapons and armour

WEAPONS MAKETH HELLDIVER; CHOOSE YOURS CAREFULLY.

Weapons of justice

From light machine guns and sturdy sidearms to barking shotguns and precision battle rifles, your cache of raw firepower can blitz any bug, bot, or whatever else the galaxy throws at you.

Super Earth encourages freedom of expression in the dispense of justice; primary guns, sidearms, grenades—they all have their own stats and special traits, so grab the right gear for each mission.

While you'll start with Super Earth's standard-issue equipment, new weapons can be bought from the Acquisition Centre with Medals—earned for completing operational objectives—or with Super Credits, available to buy from PlayStation™ Store.

Freedom-fighting armour

Life on the galactic frontlines is quite often fatal, so you won't want to step into your Hellpod until you'll donned a set of Super Earth's finest armour. They come in a range of intimidating styles and three convenient categories.

Armour performance is indicated by three core stats: Armour Rating, Speed and Stamina Regen. Each piece of body armour has a matching helmet, but there are no Super Earth directives that forbid mixing and matching so find a combination that matches your particular style of alien suppression. 

New armour sets can be bought via Warbonds in the Acquisition Centre—each piece has a special passive ability that impacts survival and combat effectiveness. Choose wisely: they could mean the difference between glorious death and glorious glory.

Dressed to kill

Armour Types

Light Armour

Light Armour is for those lithe and lethal Helldivers who are hoping to stay one step ahead of the enemy.

Medium Armour

Medium Armour is for those free-wheeling go-getters who like to have it both ways.

Heavy Armour

Heavy armour is for those who plant their feet like the pillars of democracy and yield only when tyranny is bested.

Death from above

How to use stratagems

Super Earth's fleet is ready to dispense weapons, reinforcements and ballistics at the touch of at least three buttons.

Stratagems are the jewels in your arsenal. You'll unlock more from your Ship Management Terminal with 'Requisitions' (a special currency is awarded for completing operations) and you'll get your hands on stronger Stratagems as you go. There are six Stratagem categories, with new Stratagems added as the war continues to rage on. 

Eagle Stratagems
Orbital Stratagems
Backpack Stratagems
Support Weapons
Defensive Stratagems

Eagle Stratagems

Very fast, very noisy and very fun. Each one comes with a set number of charges that can be used in quick succession.

  • Strafing Run
    Call in a high-speed fighter jet to unleash a machine gun assault from the heavens.
  • Air Strike
    Explosive carpet bombing run - they’ll never see it coming.
  • Cluster Bomb
    Dispatch a barrage of cluster bombs to obliterate a wide area of the battlefield.
  • Napalm Strike
    Watch yourself, cadet! The blazing aftermath created by napalm cannot distinguish the agents of liberty from those of tyranny.

Orbital Stratagems

Good things come to those who wait. They might have a longer deployment time, but Orbitals pack a serious punch.

  • Precision Strike
    A one-hit wonder. Drop the beacon and take a beat. Deadly and to the point.
  • Gatling Barrage
    A sustained rapid-fire salvo from your ship’s powerful gatling gun. Enjoy the show.
  • Gas Strike
    Hold your breath! The sweet scent of freedom is sometimes deadly.
  • EMS Strike
    Call down an electromagnetic barrage that will freeze the forces of oppression in their tracks (but also fellow Helldivers; deploy with extreme prejudice).

Backpack Stratagems

Sometimes it pays to think with your head, rather than your trigger finger.

  • Supply Pack
    Restock the supplies of your allies so they can dish out the damage.
  • Jump Pack
    Leap high into the air to bypass seemingly impassable obstacles and/or clueless enemies.
  • “Guard Dog”
    A Helldiver’s best friend? This drone obediently shoots nearby enemies with an assault rifle.
  • “Guard Dog” Rover
    Same as above, but using a cool laser weapon! Who’s a good boy? 

Support Weapons

Now we’re talking. Heavy-duty firepower to take out large groups or a single armored unit.

  • Machine Gun
    Rat-a-tat-tat. Unwieldy, but man can this thing fire. Crouch down, pull the trigger and hold on tight.
  • Anti-material Rifle
    This high-powered sniper rifle proves you don't always have to 'keep your enemies closer'.
  • Stalwart
    The Machine Gun’s little brother, the Stalwart is easier to handle and more accurate, but less punishing.
  • Expendable Anti-Tank
    The clue is in the name – a single-use rocket launcher that annihilates armoured enemies where they stand

Defensive Stratagems

Staying alive is kind of important if we’re going to win this thing. Keep the enemy at bay and hold your ground.

  • Anti-Personal Minefield
    Pepper the battlefield with mines deadly to whoever/whatever steps on them, friend or foe.
  • Incendiary Mines
    Trigger an explosion that ignites the terrain and anything foolish enough to be close by.
  • Machine Gun Sentry
    A high rate-of-fire turret that batters lightly armoured targets. Put it in place and go about your business.
  • Gatling Sentry
    Pretty similar to the Machine Gun Sentry, but with a faster attack speed.

The Galactic War

Top tips for securing victory

If there's one thing you remember out there, it should be these ten things.

  1. Be brave, not stupid. While gung-ho passion is commendable, it pays to think first and exterminate second. Do you need to reload? Do you need to resupply? Do you have everything need? If in doubt, always go in armed to the teeth.
  2. Throw everything you've got at them. No single Helldiver carries enough ammunition to bring down an entire horde. Call down air strikes, support fire, heavy weapons and reinforcements to decimate the enemy.
  3. Destroy, but also search. Not everything on a planet's surface is cannon fodder. Alien battlefields are littered with everything from spare ammunition to unclaimed medals and scientific samples. Grab everything you can and bring it back for the war effort.
  4. Exceed expectations. If you want to climb the ranks you'll need to go above and beyond. Most battlefields will have additional objectives (like bug nests to destroy or support weapons to redeploy) and going the extra mile is richly rewarded by command.
  5. Don't blame your tools. Each weapon has different merits: firepower, recoil, reload times and ammunition vary wildly. Make sure you know what you're doing before you pull that trigger. Heavy recoil weapons are more effective when fired from a prone position; sidearms need reloading regularly.
  1. Pitch with purpose. A strong throwing arm can make a Helldiver's career. Strategic support will land right where you drop the beacon, so why not drop it right on the enemy's head? When you're pitching a grenade, don't be afraid to hold it for a second or two before you throw and make sure it explodes right in the enemy's face—just don't hold it too long.
  2. Pillage your corpse. If you should be confronted by a hero's death out there, make sure that you head over and pick up what you've dropped once you redeploy. It's not just weapons and ammunition; dead bodies can't carry precious scientific samples back to the fleet.
  3. Pillage other corpses. No Helldiver should die in vain. If you're backed into a corner and your best buddy has just taken one for democracy, don't let it be for nothing. Grab anything they've dropped, it might just keep you from the same fate.
  4. Stand together. Tales of your legend will only spread across the galaxy if buddies are there to witness it. Join up with other Helldivers online (or let others join you). You'll live longer, conquer tougher objectives and sing songs of one another's heroism for ages to come.
  5. Watch where you point that thing. The chaos of armed conflict is a hotbed for friendly fire. Be aware that all munitions have a potentially fatal effect on fellow Helldivers. Keep your buddies out of the firing line and with any luck they'll pay you the same courtesy.

Defence spending

Warbonds and Super Credits

An army marches on its wallet. The more operations you complete, the more resources you'll gather to expand your arsenal and equipment–but it's not the only way.

Warbonds

Contribute to Super Earth’s righteous campaign against its enemies–and earn Super Credits, new armour, capes and weapons, stylish poses and more for your selfless efforts.

Warbonds are series of tiered rewards that can be earned by spending the Medals you accrue by joining missions, completing Personal Orders and helping the wider Helldivers community complete Major Orders.

Once you unlock a Warbond* its pages are yours to work through in your own time. There’s no expiration and you can contribute Medals to multiple active Warbonds. Now that’s freedom.

Explore just a fraction of the rewards that await those who selflessly invest their Medals into the Super Earth war effort.

*Premium Warbonds require Super Credits to unlock.

CM-09 Bonesnapper Body Armour

Warbond: Helldivers Mobilise! (Page 4)

Cost: 15 Medals

Increase your chances of survival with the passive Med-Kit ability, which boosts the number of stims you can hold by two, and increases the duration of their gradual health-recovering effects by two seconds.

JAR-5 Dominator

Premium Warbond: Steel Veterans (Page 3)

Cost: 80 Medals

The jet-propelled rounds of the appropriately named Dominator explode after striking a target, making it a powerful ally when faced with larger armoured foes.

LAS-16 Sickle

Premium Warbond: Cutting Edge (Page 1)

Cost: 20 Medals

This laser-firing energy weapon takes a short while to get charged up, but fires at great speed once it gets going. As long as you’re careful not to let it overheat, you’ll never have to worry about ammo.

Grenade Pistol

Premium Warbond:Democratic Detonation (Page 3)

Cost: 60 Medals

This sidearm fires Impact Grenades, giving you the option to bring a second type of grenade into battle. Unlike a Grenade Launcher, it can be used one-handed, freeing you up to stay protected with a Ballistic Shield.

Incendiary Impact Grenade

Premium Warbond: Polar Patriots (Page 2)

Cost: 25 Medals

The ‘Impact’ part is important here, as this grenade disperses self-igniting white phosphorus the moment it strikes an enemy or the environment. Ideal for crowd control.

K-2 Throwing Knife

Premium Warbond: Viper Commandos (Page 3)

Cost: 60 Medals

With careful aiming, this silent Throwable can help your Helldivers remain undetected when trying to take first blood against groups, giving you time to follow up with a devastating Strategem.

Super Credits

Super Credits can help fuel your valiant fight for freedom and democracy.

Available to buy from PlayStation™Store and findable in-game, you can spend your stash in the Acquisition Centre to purchase either additional Warbonds or new items like capes, armour and weapons. 

Keep checking the Acquisition Centre as new supplies arrive regularly from Super Earth.

Enlist today

Available on PlayStation Store

Editions:

Standard Edition

  • HELLDIVERS™ 2

Super Citizen Edition

  • HELLDIVERS™ 2
  • ‘DP-53 Savior of the Free’ Armour Set.
  • ‘Will of the People’ Cape.
  • ‘MP-98 Knight’ Weapon.
  • Super Citizen Status.
  • Stratagem Hero Ship Game.
  • ‘Steeled Veterans’ Premium Warbond.
Platform:
PS5
Release:
8/2/2024
Publisher:
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genres:
Action
Voice:
English
Screen Languages:
Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, Korean
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WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH MAY OFFEND AND MAY NOT BE DISTRIBUTED, CIRCULATED, SOLD, HIRED, GIVEN, LENT, SHOWN, PLAYED OR PROJECTED TO A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF 18 YEARS

The above information is subject to change without prior notice.

This game/content may not be available in some countries and regions and in some languages.

The above information is subject to change without prior notice.

This game/content may not be available in some countries and regions and in some languages.

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©2024 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by Arrowhead Game Studios AB. Helldivers is a registered trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC and related companies in the U.S. and other countries.